Separators are used in various industries to separate components of a mixture. For example, separators can be used to separate solid components from a mixture or liquids from a solid-liquid mixture. Vibratory separators use vibrational energy to separate components. Vibratory separators are used in various industries.
In the oil and gas industry, for example, vibratory separators called “shale shakers” are used to separate solids from liquids in oil-based and/or water-based drilling fluids, referred to as “mud.” For example, such separators may include sifting and/or filtering screens to remove solids from a slurry. Drill cuttings from used drilling mud may flow onto mesh screens of the shale shaker. Vibrational energy applied to the shale shaker may shake the mesh screens to separate the drill cuttings from the used drilling much to clean the mud for further use in drilling operations.
Mud serves multiple purposes in the industry. Drilling mud acts as a lubricant to cool rotary drill bits and facilitate faster cutting rates. Further, dispersion of the drilling mud around a drill bit, for example, may assist in counterbalancing various pressures encountered in subterranean formations. Various weighting and lubrication agents are mixed into the drilling mud to obtain the correct mixture for the type and construction of the formation to be drilled. Because the mud evaluation and/or the mixture process may be time consuming and expensive, drillers and service companies prefer to reclaim and reuse drilling mud. Another purpose of the drilling mud is to carry rocks and/or cuttings from the drill bit to the surface. For example, in a wellbore, the cuttings and/or solids may enter into the drilling mud and must be removed before the drilling mud may be reused.
Recently, drilling fluids containing bridging materials, also known in the art as wellbore strengthening materials or loss prevention materials, have seen increased use in drilling operations where natural fractures in the wellbore allow drilling fluid to escape from the circulating system. Wellbore strengthening materials are typically mixed into the drilling fluid and used to bridge the fractures to prevent fluid loss into the formation. Such wellbore strengthening materials are also used in stress cage drilling, which involves intentionally creating fractures in the wellbore and bridging the fractures with the materials. Such applications create a hoop stress and stabilize the formation. Wellbore strengthening materials typically are more expensive than other additives used in drilling fluid components. Thus, drillers benefit when wellbore strengthening materials are recovered during waste remediation.
Accordingly, collection and movement materials from a separator, whether oilfield or non-oilfield related, is generally beneficial to the industry.